Cuttack, Aug. 21: The Commission of Inquiry appointed by the Odisha government to assess the feasibility and desirability of establishment of a permanent bench or circuit bench of Orissa High Court anywhere in the state has made tardy progress over the past five years.

Justice Chitta Ranjan Pal, a retired high court judge was appointed as head of the single-member judicial commission on March 11, 2008.

The commission was asked to submit a report within six months. But the commission is yet to complete the inquiry necessary to compile the report.

So far, not a single report has been submitted.

Delay in collection of information on cases filed in Orissa High Court from western and southern Odisha from where bar associations and general public have been demanding for establishment of a permanent bench or circuit bench had reportedly slowed down the progress of the inquiry, commission sources said.

“The process of collection of required records from the high court is yet to be completed. The records are necessary to study the cause of action related to the writ petitions filed from the zone of study,” Justice Chitta Ranjan Pal told The Telegraph today.

The commission was to collect information and data from the high court, different district offices, bar associations and various forums and come up with a report.

“The data compilation process will be completed in the next two months and the report will be ready by the end of this year,” Justice Pal said.

Though the tenure of the commission was for six months, it has been given 10 extensions. The last one was given on June 30 this year.

So far, the state government incurred an expenditure of nearly Rs one crore on the commission which has it’s headquarter at the Special Circuit House in Cuttack.

The commission will make “a thorough systematic and analytical study of the demands of the different Bar Associations in order to assess the feasibility and desirability of establishment of a permanent bench/circuit bench”.

The government also expects the commission to make “an in-depth study of the existing constitutional provisions for establishment of a permanent bench/circuit bench anywhere in the state other than the principal seat” and “analyse the Acts, Rules and Recommendations made from time to time for establishment of a permanent bench/circuit bench”.